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OpenAI chief accused of ‘blackmail’ in EU dispute

The European Union accused OpenAI’s CEO of “blackmail” for suggesting that new regulations could force the company to leave the bloc.

OpenAI’s Sam Altman stated that they might cease operating in Europe if the AI Act was implemented. EU industry commissioner Thierry Breton dismissed Altman’s remarks, emphasizing the need for a clear framework to regulate generative AI.

Altman’s comments come as AI technology, including OpenAI’s ChatGPT bot, raises concerns about its impact on industries, misinformation, and biases.

Microsoft, which invested in OpenAI, hopes for a reasonable compromise in the final AI Act.

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PARIS, FRANCE — The European Union on Thursday accused the boss of OpenAI, the firm that created the explosively popular ChatGPT bot, of “blackmail” by suggesting that new rules would force his company to leave the bloc.

Sam Altman told reporters in London that OpenAI could potentially “cease operating” in Europe if the bloc pushed ahead with its long-awaited AI Act, a regulation designed to protect the public from the technology.

Altman is in the middle of a global tour to charm leaders and powerbrokers from Lagos to London, but his comments appeared to anger EU industry commissioner Thierry Breton.

“There is no point in attempting blackmail — claiming that by crafting a clear framework, Europe is holding up the rollout of generative AI,” tweeted Breton, referring to the artificial intelligence software that generates original content.

ChatGPT burst onto the scene late last year, demonstrating an ability to generate essays, poems and conversations from the briefest of prompts.

Microsoft later laid out billions of dollars to support OpenAI and has begun using the firm’s technology in several of its products.

AI’s boosters claim the technology will improve lives by doing menial tasks better and revolutionising human interaction with machines.

But critics say it will decimate entire industries, lead to a flood of misinformation and copyright infringements, and entrench race and gender biases.

In comments first reported by Time magazine on Wednesday, Altman said his firm would “try to comply” with the EU’s regulation, which is unlikely to be operational until the end of 2025.

“If we can comply, we will, and if we can’t, we’ll cease operating,” he said, adding that there were “technical limits to what’s possible”.

The Financial Times newspaper carried similar quotes on Thursday, sparking the reply from Breton.

He said he was helping firms to deal with the rules, pointing to his idea for a “voluntary pact” on AI that would bridge the gap while lawmakers finalised the full regulation.

Microsoft’s President Brad Smith said during an event in the United States on Thursday that he was optimistic “reason will prevail” and that the final AI Act would be an acceptable compromise.

— AFP

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AFP

Singapore hangs 14th drug convict since last year

Singapore executed Mohd Aziz bin Hussain, convicted of drug trafficking, amid a resumption of executions in 2022. Another woman prisoner, Saridewi Djamani, faces execution.

Amnesty International urged Singapore to halt the executions, questioning the deterrent effect of the death penalty.

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1 year ago

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26 July 2023

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SINGAPORE, SINGAPORE — Singapore on Wednesday hanged a local man convicted of drug trafficking, officials said, two days before the scheduled execution of the first woman prisoner in the city-state in nearly 20 years.

Mohd Aziz bin Hussain, convicted and sentenced to death in 2017 for trafficking “not less than 49.98 grams” (1.76 ounces) of heroin, was executed at Changi Prison, the Central Narcotics Bureau said in a statement.

The 57-year-old was the 14th convict sent to the gallows since the government resumed executions in March 2022 after a two-year pause during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Hussain’s previous appeals against his conviction and sentence had been dismissed, and a petition for presidential clemency was also denied.

A woman drug convict, 45-year-old Saridewi Djamani, is scheduled to be hanged on Friday, according to the local rights group Transformative Justice Collective (TJC).

She was sentenced to death in 2018 for trafficking around 30 grams of heroin.

If carried out, Djamani would be the first woman executed in Singapore since 2004, when 36-year-old hairdresser Yen May Woen was hanged for drug trafficking, according to TJC activist Kokila Annamalai.

Singapore has some of the world’s toughest anti-drug laws — trafficking more than 500 grams of cannabis or over 15 grams of heroin can result in the death penalty.

Rights watchdog Amnesty International on Tuesday urged Singapore to halt the executions, saying there was no evidence the death penalty acted as a deterrent to crime.

“It is unconscionable that authorities in Singapore continue to cruelly pursue more executions in the name of drug control,” Amnesty death penalty expert Chiara Sangiorgio said in a statement.

Singapore, however, insists that the death penalty has helped make it one of Asia’s safest countries.

Among those hanged since last year was Nagaenthran K. Dharmalingam, whose execution sparked a global outcry, including from the United Nations and British tycoon Richard Branson, because he was deemed to have a mental disability.

— AFP

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AFP

Singapore to execute first woman in nearly 20 years: rights groups

Singapore set to execute two drug convicts, including first woman in 20 years, despite rights groups’ calls to stop.

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25 July 2023

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SINGAPORE, SINGAPORE — Singapore is set to hang two drug convicts this week, including the first woman to be sent to the gallows in nearly 20 years, rights groups said Tuesday, while urging the executions be halted.

Local rights organisation Transformative Justice Collective (TJC) said a 56-year-old man convicted of trafficking 50 grams (1.76 ounces) of heroin is scheduled to be hanged on Wednesday at the Southeast Asian city-state’s Changi Prison.

A 45-year-old woman convict who TJC identified as Saridewi Djamani is also set to be sent to the gallows on Friday. She was sentenced to death in 2018 for trafficking around 30 grams of heroin.

If carried out, she would be the first woman to be executed in Singapore since 2004 when 36-year-old hairdresser Yen May Woen was hanged for drug trafficking, said TJC activist Kokila Annamalai.

TJC said the two prisoners are Singaporeans and their families have received notices setting the dates of their executions.

Prison officials have not answered emailed questions from AFP seeking confirmation.

Singapore imposes the death penalty for certain crimes, including murder and some forms of kidnapping.

It also has some of the world’s toughest anti-drug laws: trafficking more than 500 grams of cannabis and 15 grams of heroin can result in the death penalty.

At least 13 people have been hanged so far since the government resumed executions following a two-year hiatus in place during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Rights watchdog Amnesty International on Tuesday urged Singapore to halt the impending executions.

“It is unconscionable that authorities in Singapore continue to cruelly pursue more executions in the name of drug control,” Amnesty’s death penalty expert Chiara Sangiorgio said in a statement.

“There is no evidence that the death penalty has a unique deterrent effect or that it has any impact on the use and availability of drugs.

“As countries around the world do away with the death penalty and embrace drug policy reform, Singapore’s authorities are doing neither,” Sangiorgio added.

Singapore insists that the death penalty is an effective crime deterrent.

— AFP

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